Visitation Surge!

The day was quite nice with a mixture of clouds and sunshine and temperatures near 80 degrees F. This was one of our FREE visitation days and many took advantage of this opportunity to enjoy the gardens. We were running some irrigation and sprinklers but had to stop most of that activity due to the heavy foot traffic (which is a great problem to have!). Above is the Azumaya structure in the fern & moss garden which is always quite scenic in that setting. Our grounds staff and many volunteers had a very productive day and some potential rain tonight might save us some more watering tomorrow! Below are some additional images taken today.

'Overdam' variegated feather reed grass (Calamagrostis x acutiflora) - perennial

horsetail (Equisetum sp.) - perennial

some of our more than 15 varieties of Japanese painted ferns (Athyrium niponicum) in the fern & moss garden

sensitive fern (Onoclea sensibilis) - perennial

our Japanese stewartia (Stewartia pseudocamellia) bloomed for the first time this year (planted 8 years ago!)

Our volunteers were a great help today. Marv (above) did his primping in the fern & moss garden and does a great job nurturing that mossy area. Below is Kathy who, along with Eva (next photo down) did a nice job weeding two areas. They had no trouble filling up their cart a couple of times and were helping Jan R. (third photo down) with some weeding in the Scottish garden. Pat M. came in to finish some repairs. Betty (fourth photo down) was in to plant in her assigned garden area and will be able to finish up that huge space next week. Kay (fifth photo down) did some planting and shifted over to significant weeding in the reception garden. I think the purslane (Portulaca oleracea) was quivering in fear as she approached.... Chuck S. (sixth photo down) gave a cart tour which is becoming a nice option for visitors with mobility challenges. The cart tour is free but must be pre-arranged. Stan (seventh photo down) was in for pruning and tidying in the Japanese garden and Mary and Nancy did a nice job weeding in the back of the gazebo garden. The eighth photo down shows (left to right) Jordan, Dawn, Victoria, Janice and Janelle working on the raised planters at the Horticulture Center. These planters are looking dynamite! We also saw Dr. Yahr and a few others today as well.

The grounds staff had a busy day for sure but the weather was perfect for gardening and the soil hasn't dried out yet! Above is Big John rototilling an area in advance of planting (hopefully tomorrow). John also ran irrigation, composted, set up sprinklers and had myriad other tasks as well. Cindy (half day) planted a bunch of fragrant tuberoses (Polianthes tuberosa) in the Smelly Garden theme located in the Nancy Yahr Memorial Children's Garden. They have amazing scent! She also fertilized containers and some other garden areas. Cheryl did a great job weeding throughout the Japanese garden and watered the remaining yard plants. Terry set up sprinklers, watered, fertilized (all the containers too), sheared and had some other duties. Nolan mulched all day and does an excellent job. Trevor fertilized, watered and ended up mulching as well. I was able to place more plants for installation and continue preparations for the exciting Home Garden Tour coming up on July 11th! Tickets are available right now for $10 each at K&W Greenery (Janesville) and RBG. The five photos below feature one of our twenty-five beautiful "Nature Nooks" which are the 2015 Garden Art Project. Note the photo below I included myself (cool mirror effect inside!). These are designed after the "Little Library" program and will be auctioned off on September 13th (1 pm) this year. Come see these wonderful works of art (nice job Connie)! Further below are more photos from the gardens today.